Improved piano-forte



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

HUBERT SCHONAOKER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVED PIANO-FORTE.

- Specication forming part ofgIiettcrs Patent No. 13,960, dated December1S, 1855.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUBERT SoHoNAcKER, of Detroit, in the county ofYVayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Piano-Fortes; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich-` Figure 1 is a plan of the stringed part of a piano-forteconstructed according to my invention, and Fig. 2 a section of the samein the line fr fr of Fig. l'.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothtigures.

My invention consists as follows: Instead of calculating the scale forthe length of strings from the bridge upon the soundingboard to thebridge upon the wrest-plank, as is the common mode now in use, Icalculate my octave-scale from the bearing at the hitch-pins ct a, Fig.l, to the bridge upon the wrest-plank It, and give to each string asufticient length that if not prevented sounding by the tape usuallyiiared behind the bridge ZJ on the sounding-board t' it would give thefirst, second, or third octave above the normal or pitch tone in frontof the bridge, and provide a single point-viz., a small metallic fret c,made of common wire on the sounding-board bridge o, for each string torest upon at its nodal point, or lpoint where the vibrations wouldnaturally cross if the fret were not there. This point ot' resting c isso small that the vibrations of the string, which is not confined bypins, as it usually is, upon the soundingboard bridge, pass over it withno orbut very little interruption, and thus the exibility of the entirelength of string is employed to aid in prolonging a free vibration.

In order that none of the vibrations of the strings are wasted, I employhorizontal tuning-screws e e, each one of which has iiXed bearings forits ends and passes through a movpin, and which wastes, to a'gi'eatextent, the vibrations, and to throw the flexibility of the entirelength of the string upon the soundingboard, which alone gives out tone,to catch every vibration of the string.

It may be well here to remark that I am aware that a horizontaltuning-screw connecting with the two strings of a note has been used;but when that is used with the ordinary method of confining the stringon the bridge of the sounding-board such a screw is useless; but with myarrangement of the strings in the other respects, the two strings ofeach note being of precisely equal length from the extreme bearings ateach end and resting on single points upon the sounding-board bridgewithout being confined there, the two strings can be tuned in unison bya single screw.

The advantages gained by my method of laying out the scale and plan ofsupporting the string on the sounding-board and tuning it are, first, amore free and full vibration; second, a greater equality throughout thewhole scale, and, third, a perfect unison is maintained much longerbecause the true principle of vibration is preserved and carried out onevery string, and there can be no counteracting vibrations to interferewith the true and proper ones.

That I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. Constructing the instrument so that the strings shall rest on a fretat the nodal or octave points or substantially similar rest upon thebridge of the sounding board, whereby free vibration is allowed to thewhole length of string between the hitch-pins and bridge on thewrest-plank, substantially as herein described.

2. Though I do not of itself claim connecting the two strings of a notewith a single horizontal tuning-screw, I claim the connection of the twostrings with the same screw when that is combined with the employment ofa fret c or other rest merely supporting the string on thesounding-board at single points and not confining it, substantially asherein set forth.

II. SCIIONACKER..

Witnesses:

GAREY SPENCER, Vlnonns I. JOHNSTON.

